Off-the-field matters are much more exciting than what’s happening on the pitch at Middlesbrough at the moment and I would love to see the bookies’ favourite Ryan Giggs become the next Boro manager with Gary Neville alongside him.

Okay, Giggs has no managerial experience. And he isn’t the most charismatic character either.

But Neville is and I just think the combination of those two and maybe one of the other ex-Manchester United lads with them in the dugout would really work at the Boro.

I think the BBC documentary about Salford City, the non-league club that the two Nevilles have with Giggs, Nicky Butt and Paul Scholes, is great.

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That’s part of the reason that he is inevitably being linked with the Boro job.

The other is that his former assistant Steve Agnew is already in place at the club, of course.

But I think Boro need a clean slate, a totally fresh start.

Bruce and Aggers would be a marriage of convenience because they’ve worked together before.

But they have gone their own separate since and I think the players need a totally new managerial set-up to inspire them.

The squad all know Aggers’ traits and tendencies now, and your attention span can only last so long as a player before you stop responding, especially with the way that this season has gone.

I’m excited about seeing who the next permanent Boro boss will be and I’ve got evey faith that Steve Gibson will get this next appointment right.

He has a track record of getting his appointments more right than wrong, and isn’t afraid to bring in coaches with no managerial experience, which is another factor that’s leaning me towards a Giggs-fronted Boro management team.

Bryan Robson hadn’t managed before he came to Boro, but he got us to four cup finals.

Steve McClaren (pictured below) hadn’t either but we won a Carling Cup with him and he got us to a European final.

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And we won promotion under Aitor Karanka the season after he managed us to a play-off final.

Gareth Southgate struggled, but he was sacked when things were starting to pick up.

Mogga’s reign was hit and miss but he maybe had the toughest job of the lot because he had to balance the books at a time when money was tight.

The most experienced manager of the lot was Gordon Strachan and he was an absolute disaster.

But this next appointment is crucial and I’m sure Gibson will make one that excites the fans and offers a lot of promise, especially going by his recent comments about smashing the Championship.

I’m sure he will have things cued up already.

Boro are in real need of a massive lift, because it was the same old story against Southampton.

Body language says everything and there was a resignation about the players when the first goal went in.

Four or five players were bent forward with their hands on their knees and another three or four had their hands on their hips.

And that was only in the first half at 1-0 down.

Yet again, there was no one finger-pointing or anyone having a go at their teammates telling them to sort themselves out, like someone like Gary Hamilton would have in our Boro days.

There was a lot made of Patrick Bamford’s celebrations after his goal, with some saying he went over the top considering Boro’s situation.

Patrick Bamford celebrates (Image: Getty Images Europe)

The lad scored his first Premier League goal, it was the weight of two years of pressure being lifted off his shoulders and his adrenaline kicked in.

I used to climb on the fence after scoring at Ayresome Park, but I’d like to think I would have been more restrained with my celebrations than Bamford and been more inwardly happy.

But, again, it’s adrenaline - you never know.

I just found it strange that none of Bamford’s teammates went over to high five him or pat him on the back after he scored.

Even the tumbleweed blowing past him at the time felt lonely.

But maybe that’s another indicator of how low the players are feeling at the moment.

I would change it around at Liverpool on Sunday now, give lads a chance who maybe haven’t had much of a look-in some game time.

What is there to lose? Boro have been losing games anyway with their supposedly strongest line-up.

So get Dimi in goal and maye give some of the Academy lads some minutes to see what it’s all about and give them a taste of the level they’re aspiring to.

There might be an argument from elsewhere about fielding a weakened line-up because it’s a crucual final day for the Champions League places.

But Jose Mourinho rotates his Man United side all the time to suit his own needs, so why can’t Boro?

Anyway, back to the Boro manager’s job and if Giggs gets it the first question someone should ask him is if he shanked his volleyed winner against us in extra time in that famous League Cup semi-final second leg in the Old Trafford rain.

He definitely did - it went in off his shin. I still haven’t forgiven him for that!

The Premier League season is over on Sunday and the Reds Football Academy is taking a two-week break.